Adios, Jack Benny

Today is the 11th anniversary of my 29th birthday. (I decided years ago not to age past 29.) Alternatively, I could say that I'm not getting old, I'm just two years shy of being the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. (That's something to look forward to, isn't it?) One thing I won't say -- and you're not allowed to, either -- is my actual age. I'm afraid that, if I mention it, I'm going to feel it. I wish I had warned my brothers about that; one of them already e-mailed me birthday greetings and included the number. (On the other hand, he passed that age some time ago, and he assured me he could still remember it and that it was painless.)

It should be a continuation of a pleasant time, too. My friend Robomarkov came to town last Friday for a week's vacation (and to celebrate his life, the universe, and everything birthday on Saturday), and we've been keeping busy. I found a barber shop that would give him the straight razor shave he's been wanting since his bachelor party 14 years ago. Yesterday, I accompanied him to a place called Coker Creek for a little gold prospecting. I found a local chain of gyms for a trial membership, and it has a sauna which he also likes. (Other than reminiscing about summers in New Mexico, I see no reason to sit in a room at 168 F.)

My mom's best friend, before she retired the second time, would always take the day off work on her birthday because she didn't want her coworkers putting balloons and flowers and such on her desk. I thought that was a little silly, since they could always do it the day before or the day after. I definitely recommend taking the entire week to have fun with a friend. (I'll have to post at another time about everything we've done.)

In the meantime, I need to get ready for the appointment with a trainer at the trial gym, and we're going to use more of my free meal coupons from restaurants' e-clubs, and we need (Robomarkov's word) to restock with beer. I think there's a lot of other stuff we'll be doing (more touristy trap crap tomorrow), so I'll just need to jot down notes for my next blog post. Dang, is my memory going already? I just turned... that age. Nope, not gonna happen. I've just been busy, that's all.